mahta behnam, Eileen Delgado, kristopher nguyen, lilia park, and daija smith
Contemporary romance, a relatively new genre in the literary scene, is famous for its present nature and realistic, grounded romance. It is not uncommon for works in this genre to reuse certain plots, archetypes, and obstacles–in other words, tropes. While certain unique details of each novel might get swapped, like names and locations, a majority don’t stray from the story beats of a romance novel. As the spectrum of contemporary literature gradually expands with time, it also opens itself up, adopting modern trends and tackling issues in order to capture a vastly diverse readership with varying people and outlooks. This heavy emphasis on tropes and aggressive marketing becomes starkly evident as publishers make a harried attempt at keeping up with their growing audience. Consequently, these attempts have had a somewhat negative effect on the reputation of contemporary romance novels, leading them to be seen as trite and formulaic fluff that is not worth the engagement. Despite the genre’s less-than-stellar reputation, contemporary romance, or romance in general, still reigns supreme, commanding a sizable share of the publishing market. In fact, we argue that the seemingly evergreen formula of the mass-market romance genre is not unchanging at all, and has remained so immensely popular precisely because of certain evolutions in accommodation with a changing audience.
Novels of the contemporary romance genre often feature a uniform cover design which includes bright colors, block lettering, pastel drawings of people, or florals. Readers can predict that the similarities between these kinds of novels don’t end at the cover, but extend into the contents. Stories within this genre tend to follow similar plotlines, which readers on social media refer to as “tropes.” The formulaic nature of the books which are rapidly flooding the contemporary romance space is an extension of mass-market publishing. In Big Fiction, Dan Sinykin writes, “When conglomeration reordered literature in the 1970s, it not only annihilated the literary blockbuster but also intervened in internecine genre wars, lending to its overwhelming force to formula” (60). One of the genres most affected by the conglomeration of publishing houses was romance, for exactly this reason. Regardless of who the author is, books which follow this predictable pattern are easy to produce and sell on a large scale.
Contemporary romance and the romance genre, in general, have not always been positively perceived by literary critics, leaving the genre to be dismissed by those who claim that it does not produce revolutionary works of literature. However, authors and publishers alike are not always seeking to create groundbreaking literary pieces; they simply seek to grow their platforms by attracting new audiences and raking up sales. In doing so, authors and publishers must take many different aspects into account, such as being inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community, accounting for the female gaze, eliminating censorship of taboos such as sex, and utilizing marketing techniques that maximize accessibility for all types of readers at all times.
One way that we approached this topic is through a direct analysis of the contemporary romance genre. Three of the essays in this cluster feature a popular romance book as a primary source around which to center research. One essay focuses on the 2019 novel Red, White, and Royal Blue to explore emerging inclusive topics such as queer themes within mainstream genre fiction. Another essay discusses Emily Henry’s Happy Place and how the novel reflects societal changes regarding feminist ideals. The third essay details the growing openness in the contemporary space to discuss taboo topics, such as sex, as exemplified in the novel The Love Hypothesis. All three of these perspectives reveal the evolving nature of the romance formula which has always been thought to be stagnant. These changes, our research finds, are fitting because they reflect the changing expectations and standards of its audience.
On the other hand, we also considered data to bring a more well-rounded perspective to the cluster. By analyzing readership statistics and marketing strategies, we were able to better understand the context of the contemporary romance genre from a publishing standpoint. One essay found that the growing social media community of ‘BookTok’ leads to more opportunities for a diverse range of authors and readers. Another focuses on the new marketing trends used by romance publishing houses in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Together, these essays reveal how digital platforms and evolving marketing practices influence contemporary romance. They examine how external factors, such as social media and global events, dictate the production and consumption of romantic novels.
These essays bring out the idea of subtle change through diversity. Examples of this diversity appear through the essays that discuss specific aspects such as LGBTQ+, feminism, and prior taboos as they appear in contemporary romance. This idea of diversity also expands through the statistical based essays: one discussing the impact ‘BookTok’ had upon contemporary romance, resulting in a variety of authors and readers alike and another discussing marketing tactics employed by various romance-based publishing houses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Work Cited
Sinykin, Dan. Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed the Publishing Industry and American Literature. Columbia UP, 2023.